Covid-19 kills 64 non-vaccinated people

Data from the Public Health Institute of Malawi show that 64 unvaccinated people died of Covid-19 during the five-week period between November 29 2021 and January 2 2021.

The updates indicated that in total 67 people died of Covid-19 during the review period.

The report also showed that among the deceased 64 were not vaccinated, one person was fully vaccinated while one had received the first of the double-dose AstraZeneca vaccine and the last one’s vaccination status was not established.

During the third wave, a report from the Physicians Assistants Union of Malawi (Paum) also showed that many deaths, and more than 84 percent of hospitalised patients were non-vaccinated individuals.

In an interview on Wednesday, Paum president Solomon Chomba said the Omicron variant was fast spreading. He called for vigilance on strict observation of preventive measures as advocated by the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19.

He said: “You may be aware that Covid-19 deaths are involving non-vaccinated populace which is a clear message to us all that Covid-19 vaccination is a key preventive measure.

“The only way to avoid the worst case scenarios is through building of our body immunity against Covid-19 virus through vaccination by at least between 60-80 percent of our population which is at the moment around 19 million.

He said with most hospitalisations and deaths involving the non-vaccinated Malawians, it should be a strong message to any reasonable citizen to make the right decision to get the jab.

Paum statistics show that during the third wave of the pandemic, 84 percent of hospitalised patients were non-vaccinated individuals whose majority had been from the rural set-up and the elderly.

During a daily update on Monday, Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda encouraged everyone eligible to get vaccinated at the earliest possible time to boost their protection.

She said vaccination also ensures that one does not develop severe disease and reduces risk of hospitalisation and deaths after contracting Covid-19.

Chiponda, who is also co-chairperson of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, said: “The evidence from the Covid-19 data indicated that the majority of patients being admitted to hospitals due to severe Covid-19 and those dying from Covid-19 are not vaccinated.

“The best time to get vaccinated is now so that our bodies are prepared to fight the disease in case we are exposed to the virus. For those that have received the vaccine already, let us be role models and encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated.”

She said Malawi has nearly 700 000 single-dose Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine doses and 400 000 doses of the double-jab Pfizer vaccines.

Malawi is expecting to get 388 000 doses of J&J, 396 000 of AstraZeneca and 714 000 doses of Pfizer during the first quarter of 2022.

Malawi targets to vaccinate 11 million or 60 percent of the population with the Covax Facility, a multi-donor consortium providing vaccines to poor countries, providing vaccines for 3.8 million people.

By Tuesday, Malawi had recorded 76 801 cases of Covid-19, including 2 386 deaths, representing a Case Fatality Rate of 3.11 percent. Cumulatively, 717 180 people are fully vaccinated in the country.